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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Hill Country Homilies. Weekly homilies from Holy Annunciation

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<v Speaker 1>Orthodox Church in Liberty Hill, Texas. Holy Annunciation is an

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<v Speaker 1>old calendar Orthodox church sharing the faith of the Apostles

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<v Speaker 1>and the love of Christ with all who seek His truth. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>let's listen to this week's homily, and.

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<v Speaker 2>Then the Father and Son the Holy Spirit Glord to

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus Christ. Have a seat if you wish, my dear

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<v Speaker 2>brothers and sisters in Christ. On this twelfth Sunday after Pentecost,

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<v Speaker 2>we continue in our regular Sunday electionary, but we are

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<v Speaker 2>also in the after feast of the Transfiguration. And this morning,

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<v Speaker 2>rather than talking about the Gospel of the Rich Young Ruler,

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<v Speaker 2>I instead want to talk to you about our reading

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<v Speaker 2>for the Epistle from the First First Letter to the Corinthians.

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<v Speaker 2>And in this reading, Saint Paul reminds us of the

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<v Speaker 2>foundation upon which all Christian life stands. I declare unto

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<v Speaker 2>you the Gospel which I've preached unto you, which also

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<v Speaker 2>ye have received, and wherein ye stand by which also

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<v Speaker 2>ye are saved. We have all heard these words before.

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<v Speaker 2>We know that Christ died, that he was buried, that

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<v Speaker 2>he rose on the third day. We confess it in

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<v Speaker 2>the Creed, we sing it throughout the postle season, and

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<v Speaker 2>we proclaim it constantly throughout the liturgical year as part

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<v Speaker 2>of our life in the church. But Saint Paul was

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<v Speaker 2>not merely reminding the Corinthians of something familiar. He was

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<v Speaker 2>calling them back to the truth upon which their salvation depends.

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<v Speaker 2>Some among them had begun to waver in their faith

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<v Speaker 2>concerning the resurrection. And though they had received the apostog

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<v Speaker 2>preaching from none other than Paul himself, and they belonged

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<v Speaker 2>to the church, doubts had begun to arise with them.

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<v Speaker 2>And so Paul takes them back to the beginning. I've

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<v Speaker 2>delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received,

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<v Speaker 2>how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,

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<v Speaker 2>and that he was buried, and that he rose again

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<v Speaker 2>the third day according to the scriptures. Now, notice how

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<v Speaker 2>carefully Paul speaks. He does not say that he invented

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<v Speaker 2>this message, or that he wrote this message, or that

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<v Speaker 2>he developed it through his own special insight. Instead, he says,

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<v Speaker 2>I delivered unto you that which I also received. Saint

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<v Speaker 2>John Christ system comments upon precisely these words. He says,

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<v Speaker 2>Paul doesn't say merely I taught you, but I delivered

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<v Speaker 2>unto you that which I also received, demonstrating that the

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<v Speaker 2>apostog faith is not something originating from men. Paul in

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<v Speaker 2>instead is handing on what was entrusted to him by

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<v Speaker 2>Christ himself. And this remains the pattern of the Church

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<v Speaker 2>to this day. The Gospel is received, it is preserved,

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<v Speaker 2>is proclaimed, and it is received again, transmitted through generations

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<v Speaker 2>by the successors to the Apostles. The Church has never

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<v Speaker 2>called to reinvent the faith or discover new doctrines, but

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<v Speaker 2>to safeguard faithfully that which it has received. The Gospel

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<v Speaker 2>which saves us is the same gospel that was preached

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<v Speaker 2>by the Apostles. And for Paul, the resurrection is not

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<v Speaker 2>simply one doctrine among many, but it is the heart

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<v Speaker 2>of the Christian faith. Christianity is not merely a philosophy

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<v Speaker 2>of life or a collection of moral teachings. It is

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<v Speaker 2>the proclamation of something that has happened in history. The

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<v Speaker 2>Son of God entered death itself and conquered it. Saint

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<v Speaker 2>John Christen draws particular attention to Paul's words that Christ

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<v Speaker 2>died for his sins. This phrase, which Christians toss around

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<v Speaker 2>almost frivolously today actually bears deep and profound meaning. Christ

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<v Speaker 2>himself was without sin, and he did not die because

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<v Speaker 2>he was subject to sin or to corruption. Rather, being

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<v Speaker 2>without sin, he could only have willingly accepted the bodily

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<v Speaker 2>death that belonged to us, and being the sinless one

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<v Speaker 2>and the author of life, having entered into death, he

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<v Speaker 2>shattered it from within, because he was never able to

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<v Speaker 2>be bound there in the first instance. This week past

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<v Speaker 2>we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Transfiguration on Mount Tabor.

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<v Speaker 2>The disciples beheld the divine glory of Christ shining through

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<v Speaker 2>his humanity. His face shone like the sun in his garments,

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<v Speaker 2>became radiant with light. The one who was revealed in

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<v Speaker 2>glory upon Tabor is the same one who would soon

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<v Speaker 2>and be led to Golgatha. And the face that shone

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<v Speaker 2>with divine light would soon be struck on the sides,

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<v Speaker 2>and the beloved son of the Father would be mocked

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<v Speaker 2>and scourged and crucified. But yet the darkness of Golgatha

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<v Speaker 2>could never extinguish the light of Tabor. The glory revealed

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<v Speaker 2>on the mountain pointed beyond the cross to the resurrection itself,

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<v Speaker 2>as the Chosen Disciples beheld Moses and Elijah, both bodily

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<v Speaker 2>present and conversing with Christ. Christ entered into death not

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<v Speaker 2>as its victim, but as its conqueror. Saint Athanasius speaks

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<v Speaker 2>beautifully of this mystery, saying that the death, intended by

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<v Speaker 2>Christ's enemies to shame and dishonor him, became the very

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<v Speaker 2>moment of Death's defeat, and through his death, Christ overthrows

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<v Speaker 2>death itself for our salvation. And this is why the

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<v Speaker 2>resurrection changes everything. For mankind had always lived beneath the

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<v Speaker 2>shadow of death. The powerful and the weak, the rich

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<v Speaker 2>the poor, all eventually entered the grave, and human glory faded.

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<v Speaker 2>Kingdoms pass away, and death appeared to have the final

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<v Speaker 2>word over everything. But Christ entered into the tomb and

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<v Speaker 2>broke its power. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem therefore calls Christians

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<v Speaker 2>to rejoice. As the Cross brought sorrow, so the resurrection

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<v Speaker 2>brings joy and gladness. The one who endured the crown

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<v Speaker 2>of thorns has arisen victorious. The one who entered the

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<v Speaker 2>realm of the dead has become the deliverer of all

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<v Speaker 2>those who had fallen asleep. The sins which subject us

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<v Speaker 2>to bodily death, while they sorrow us because here on

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<v Speaker 2>this earth they separate us from God. They no longer

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<v Speaker 2>chain us to Hades. And as the resurrection changed the

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<v Speaker 2>weeping of the merbearers into joy, so to our momentary

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<v Speaker 2>sorrow is supplanted by the postle joy. The resurrection is

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<v Speaker 2>not merely the survival of our soul. Christ rose bodily

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<v Speaker 2>the grave. The Apostles saw him touch him, spoke with him, Moses,

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<v Speaker 2>Elijah bodily present with him on Mount Tabor. The tomb

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<v Speaker 2>stands empty. God has come not only to save souls,

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<v Speaker 2>but to redeem our human nature bodily. Saint Paul reminds

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<v Speaker 2>the Corinthians that the risen Lord appeared to Peter, to

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<v Speaker 2>the twelve, to more than five hundred brethren at once,

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<v Speaker 2>to James and all the Apostles, and finally to Paul

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<v Speaker 2>himself on the road to Damascus. Christianity rests not upon

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<v Speaker 2>myths or private of experiences, but upon the witness of

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<v Speaker 2>those who encountered the risen Christ, and this truth changes

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<v Speaker 2>everything about how we understand life and death. Because of

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<v Speaker 2>Christ is risen, then death is no longer the end

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<v Speaker 2>of the story. When we bury our loved ones, we grieve,

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<v Speaker 2>but not as those who have no hope. We await

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<v Speaker 2>the day of the General resurrection. Win As the disciples

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<v Speaker 2>beheld the divinity of Christ at the transfiguration, we too

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<v Speaker 2>will behold Him face to face. And if Christ has risen,

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<v Speaker 2>then our struggles for holiness are not in vain. No

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<v Speaker 2>sincere prayer can ever be wasted, no sin can ever

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<v Speaker 2>be beyond remission, and no labor offered to God can

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<v Speaker 2>be meaningless. If Christ has risen, then despair itself is

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<v Speaker 2>exposed as a lie. And every sorrow, every trial, and

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<v Speaker 2>every suffering must ultimately yield before the victory of the

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<v Speaker 2>risen Lord. So Saint Paul's teaching is not only about

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<v Speaker 2>christ resurrection from the dead. It's also about the power

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<v Speaker 2>of the risen Christ to transform our human lives. Paul

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<v Speaker 2>describes himself as one not worthy to be called an

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<v Speaker 2>apostle because he persecuted the Church of God viciously. He

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<v Speaker 2>sought to destroy Christianity and the Christians by every human nature.

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<v Speaker 2>He was the least likely by every human measure, he

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<v Speaker 2>was the least likely candidate to become an apostle. Yet

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<v Speaker 2>Christ appear to him. Saint Cyril marvels that God granted

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<v Speaker 2>such providence for such prominence to the former persecutor. The

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<v Speaker 2>church's enemy becomes one of her greatest teachers and defenders.

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<v Speaker 2>In this God demonstrated the truth and the power of

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<v Speaker 2>the Gospel. For when one who was zealous in his

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<v Speaker 2>wars against a faith testifies to its truth, no accusations

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<v Speaker 2>of falsehood can stand. But Paul himself boasts of none

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<v Speaker 2>of this. Instead, he says, by the grace of God,

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<v Speaker 2>I am what I am, and those words reveal what

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<v Speaker 2>the resurrection accomplishes in a human life. The risen Christ

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<v Speaker 2>did not merely teach Paul that there is life after death.

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<v Speaker 2>He transformed him in the present. The persecutor becomes a preacher,

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<v Speaker 2>the destroyer becomes the greatest builder of the Church, and

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<v Speaker 2>the enemy becomes the very apostle of the Lord. The

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<v Speaker 2>same grace is offered to each and every one of

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<v Speaker 2>us in our holy baptism. We all carry sins, failures, weakness, wounds.

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<v Speaker 2>We often convince ourselves that real change is impossible, that

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<v Speaker 2>we're doomed by our own shortcomings. You have the conversion

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<v Speaker 2>of Paul stands before us as a witness that no

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<v Speaker 2>one is beyond the reach of God's grace, No sin

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<v Speaker 2>is greater than Christ's mercy, no habit stronger than His grace,

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<v Speaker 2>and no heart is so hardened that it cannot be

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<v Speaker 2>renewed through repentance. Brothers and sisters, Saint Paul reminds us

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<v Speaker 2>today of the gospel we have received, the gospel in

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<v Speaker 2>which we stand, and the gospel by which we will

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<v Speaker 2>be saved. Christ died for our sins, buried, rose again,

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<v Speaker 2>He conquered death, He changed the persecutors into apostles. And

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<v Speaker 2>let us therefore not treat the resurrection just as a

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<v Speaker 2>familiar doctrine, not easy words to throw away. Let us

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<v Speaker 2>not treat the transfiguration as a glorious event remembered annually

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<v Speaker 2>in the church calendar. The glory manifested in the resurrections,

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<v Speaker 2>the same glory that was revealed beforehand on Mount Table

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<v Speaker 2>and that same light that shines through the cross, that

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<v Speaker 2>same light that shines through the cross that breaks open

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<v Speaker 2>the tomb, and has offered even now to illumine transform

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<v Speaker 2>our own hearts. And because Christ has risen, the glory

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<v Speaker 2>shown to the disciples on Mount Tabor is no distant vision,

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<v Speaker 2>but a foreshadowing of what He intends for all who

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<v Speaker 2>stand in His Gospel, to be changed by his grace,

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<v Speaker 2>to be filled with his light, and to be brought

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<v Speaker 2>at last into the joy of his eternal kingdom. To

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<v Speaker 2>him who was transfigured on Mount Table for our salvation,

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<v Speaker 2>be all glory, honor, and worship, now heaving to the

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<v Speaker 2>ages of ages.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to her country homilies. For more information,

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<v Speaker 1>visit Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church at www dot DENUNCIATIONTX dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>and please join us again next week. M